The Road to Happiness
by greysfan16
Summary: When Sloane decides to give Mark the baby,what will happen? Definitely a Mark/Lexie storyline.
1. A Change Of Heart

A/N I have way too many fics already, but this was just begging to be written.

A Change Of Heart

Mark Sloan was sure that he had never felt this nervous. His daughter was here standing in front of him telling him that the baby was coming. He had no clue why she had decided to return to Seattle but Mark was not going to speculate on that right now. He would think about that later. He felt a hand on his shoulder and he knew that hand belonged to Teddy. Teddy had been the only woman he had slept with since he had slept with the daughter of a patient about two months back. Teddy seemed to know what was going on without Mark or Sloane having to tell her.

"We need to get her to the hospital." Teddy told Mark. Of course Mark knew that, but he also wanted to let Callie know what was going on. She had stood by him during the whole mess and he was grateful to have Callie in his life.

"Take her down to my car. I need to let Callie know what's going on." Mark told Teddy before he grabbed his keys and handed them to her.

"It fucking hurts." Was Sloane's only comment before Teddy helped her down the hallway and to the elevator. Mark wasn't sure what to say to his daughter so he was glad that Teddy had things under control for now. Mark slammed the apartment door and crossed the hallway to Callie's apartment. He knocked on the door a few times before he heard footsteps and then the door being unlocked. Callie opened the door and looked confusedly at Mark. She had thought he had an evening with Teddy planned.

"Sloane's in labor." Was the first thing out of Mark's mouth.

Callie was understandably confused. The last time she had seen Sloane, the blond woman had been firm that she had no intention on coming back to her father's place. Callie had no idea what had made the eighteen year old change her mind completely, but she recognized the panic in Mark's face and she knew that he needed her. Callie felt bad because she and Arizona were getting ready to discuss the baby thing. Callie held up her finger and stepped back into the apartment to talk to Arizona.

"Who was that at the door?" Arizona asked. She hadn't heard Mark's voice so she was curious.

"It's Mark. I'm sorry Ari but I have to go. Sloane's in labor." Callie told Arizona. She hated blowing off her girlfriend for a vapid narcissistic teenager, but that vapid narcissistic teenager's father was Callie's best friend so Callie needed to be there for him. Arizona was confused. She was under the impression that the narcissistic teenager had left and was not returning.

"Let me grab my jacket and I'll come with you." Arizona told her girlfriend. There were times that Arizona would have to come second to Mark and Arizona was beginning to learn that.

Ten minutes later, the car carrying, Mark, Teddy, Sloane, Callie and Arizona parked in Mark's usual parking space at Seattle Grace-Mercy West Hospital. Callie and Arizona went to get a wheelchair and Teddy and Mark got a laboring Sloane out of the car.

"Do you want me to call your mother?" Mark offered as he kept a careful eye on his daughter. Granted Samantha may have kicked Sloane out, but Mark wondered if Sloane wanted Samantha there to be with her.

"No." Sloane insisted. She had accepted that her mother did not want to be a part of her life and she didn't want her mother there. Just then Callie brought a wheelchair over to them and Mark settled his daughter in the wheelchair.

"Arizona's getting you all checked in." Callie told Sloane.

"It's a hospital. Not a hotel." Sloane pointed out. Mark chuckled softly and smiled at his daughter before he replied.

"We want to make sure you get the best room up in Labor and Delivery."

Mark pushed his daughter's wheelchair into the lobby with Callie and Teddy falling into step behind him. When they reached Arizona, she smiled at the group and said,

"You are all set. Let's go upstairs to room 2340."Of course Arizona was really only talking to Sloane, but a thought had occurred to Mark.

"Who is going to deliver him?" Mark asked. He didn't trust the OB's at SG-MW and he knew that he wasn't going to be able to get Addison here on time.

"I will." Teddy told the group. Both Arizona and Mark looked surprised. Neither of them knew when the last time was that Teddy had delivered a baby.

"When was the last time you delivered a baby?" Sloane demanded of her dad's girlfriend. She was voicing the question that the other adults were thinking, but not daring to ask. Sloane had never had a problem with speaking her mind.

"In Iraq." Teddy answered simply. Sloane's lips formed a perfect o and then she went back to being quiet. Callie and Mark and Arizona felt bad about prying. A particularly strong contraction hit Sloane at this very moment and she doubled over and tried to remember to breathe.

"Let's get her upstairs." Mark ordered. He was taking charge. He had to take charge in order to keep himself from going crazy with concern. Callie was thinking about the adoptive parents and she was almost sure that they should be called.

"Should we call the couple who's adopting him?" Callie asked Sloane. Sloane shook her head firmly. She did not want them called and in fact they were not adopting the baby. She had come back to Seattle for more than one reason.

"He's not gonna be their's." Sloane murmured. Mark was startled as were both Arizona and Callie. Mark knew that Sloane didn't want to talk about it right now so he pushed Sloane into the elevator and along with the other three women they took the elevator upstairs.

Thirty minutes later Sloane was settled in her private hospital room and her contractions were two minutes apart. Teddy had estimated that she must have been in labor for several hours even as she drove from Portland Oregon all the way to Seattle Washington. Sloane had already called the baby's father every name in the book without revealing the guy's name. Teddy was checking her again and she was startled to find that Sloane was 9 centimeters dilated. It wouldn't be long now. She let Mark back into the room after she had finished checking Sloane.

"It won't be long now." Teddy told him.

Sloane wouldn't let Mark in the room when she was getting checked and that was why he had been out in the hallway. Mark was perfectly okay with that. Mark returned to his place beside his daughter's bed and he took her hand in his.

"How are you feeling?" Mark asked.

"Tired, sore and I wish I could get the fucking drugs." Sloane replied promptly.

"Sorry, but you are almost ready to push." Teddy told Sloane. Callie and Arizona had gone to get Mark something to eat, but not before Mark promised to call them if Sloane started pushing.

Less than ten minutes later, Sloane was ready to push. Mark had been just about to call Callie and let her know when Callie and Arizona walked into the room. Sloane was in a lot of pain and she hated having this many people around her. She felt crowded and then she felt guilty because Arizona and Callie had been good to her for the most part.

"Callie, could you and Arizona please wait outside." Sloane asked them. She looked at her dad, hoping that he wouldn't be annoyed.

"Of course." Arizona replied, speaking for Callie who was about to protest. Mark wasn't angry. Sloane needed to do what was right for her and if this was it, then Mark was okay with it. Once Callie and Arizona were gone, Teddy turned back to Sloane.

"Push Sloane." Teddy commanded. Sloane pushed as hard as she could, her face tuning deep red and her father's fingers turning purple.

"Okay, stop pushing." Teddy told her. Sloane half hoped that was it, but she knew it wasn't.

"Again Sloane." Teddy ordered. Sloane pushed over and over again until Teddy spoke,

"I can see his head."

Finally after what seemed like hours of pushing the baby finally emerged from Sloane's body. From the beginning it was clear that he had excellent lungs. He came out screaming with a head of dark brown hair. Mark guessed that the hair came from the father. His eyes were like his mother's and his grandfather's. The nose was definitely a Sloane nose. Teddy wrapped him in a blanket and offered the baby to Sloane, wondering if she would want to hold him.

"No…Give him to my dad." Sloane told Teddy. Teddy gave Mark the baby and Mark couldn't help but smile at the newborn.

"Let Callie and Arizona in as soon as Sloane is cleaned up." Mark told Teddy, completely unable to take his eyes off of his grandson

"Can you give my dad and I a minute alone?" Sloane asked Teddy. Teddy nodded and left the room to go tell Callie and Arizona the good news. Mark had no idea what was going on. All he knew was that his grandson was the cutest baby he had ever seen.

"I found out that the adoptive mother's father had sexually abused her and she had long since forgiven him and she was hoping that her father would be a huge part of the baby's life. I couldn't give my son to those people. I would never be able to live with myself." Sloane told her dad. Mark was confused as to why he was being told this.

"So what happens now?" Mark asked.

"I want you to take him. I want him with family and I am in no way ready to give him the life he deserves. His father and paternal grandparents want nothing to do with him or me. As his grandfather, your petition to adopt him would definitely be granted." Sloane told Mark. Mark was stunned. He had had no idea that this was going to happen. He knew what he wanted and he was glad that his daughter was finally giving him what he wanted.

"Where will you go?" Mark asked.

"Back to Boston where Mom and I have been living for the past ten years." Sloane admitted. She yawned then and Mark took at her.

"Sleep Sloane. I am just going to take the baby to the nursery."

Sloane nodded, already half asleep. The last 48 hours had been exhausting for her and all she wanted was some sleep. At least her baby was going to be with family. That was a really big relief for her.

Mark left the room, expecting to be bombarded by Callie and Arizona, but instead Derek was approaching him.

"I heard Sloane came back and had your grandson?" Derek asked as he reached Mark and the baby.

"Yes, she just gave birth to a healthy baby boy." Mark confirmed. He was so proud of his daughter. She had done so well without the drugs. Even if his hand was bruised from the death grip she had had on his hand.

"Can I hold him?" Derek asked hopefully. Mark put the baby in Derek's arms and that was when he told Derek the other news.

"I'm adopting him."

Derek looked up at Mark, completely stunned.

"Didn't she have a family that was going to adopt him?" Derek asked confusedly.

"The adoptive mother's father is a molester." Mark explained.

"So you are going to be a father huh?" Derek asked. He knew that Mark could handle this. He had grown up a lot recently.

"I am going to do this as a single father." Mark confirmed. Inwardly he was freaking out. It hadn't even hit him that he was going to be doing this all alone, with no help until just now. He and Teddy weren't really a permanent thing and he knew that he was likely going to be single by tomorrow when Sloane was discharged. Mark wanted to prove to everyone that he could do this. So he vowed not to ask anyone for help.


	2. Talking

A/N I was really pleasantly surprised by the reaction I got to this fic. Definitely encourages me to continue it.

Talking

It was finally morning and Mark had spent the entire night with his grandson while Sloane slept. Samantha Riley was coming to pick Sloane up in about twenty minutes and Mark wasn't entirely sure that he wanted to see her. He wasn't a coward, but he knew that Samantha probably didn't want to see him either. Calling her last night had been difficult enough for Mark. He always tried to avoid awkward moments and having to call a woman who hadn't seen in nineteen years was definitely awkward. She had missed her daughter so Mark didn't have too hard of a time talking her into coming to Seattle to get Sloane. Not that he didn't want her staying with him, but he knew that Sloane wanted to get as far away from her son as possible so she did not get attached to him.

Lexie had heard the big news from Meredith after Derek told her and Lexie had wanted to go congratulate Mark as soon as she rounded on patients. She wasn't sure if he would want to see her. After all he had moved on with Teddy Altman. With her patients rounded on and the charts returned to the nurses station, Lexie headed to the nursery. When she reached the window, she saw Mark cradling the baby in his arms as he settled himself into one of the chairs. Lexie had to admit that he looked good holding a baby. Then again, Mark Sloan could look good doing anything. Lexie wondered where Teddy was and why she wasn't sitting with Mark and the baby. Taking a deep breath, Lexie opened the door.

Mark looked up when he heard the door open and when he saw it was Lexie, his smile fell off of his lips. He was still so angry at her for sleeping with Alex. In his mind, she was not supposed to want to sleep with anyone else so soon after they had broken up.

"Hi." Lexie whispered nervously. She wasn't sure if Mark would talk to her so she had decided to speak first. Maybe he wouldn't even want her in the nursery while he was in there visiting his grandson. Mark knew that he couldn't just keep being mean to Lexie. He needed to be a grown up about this. Plus there was the fact that he was still in love with her.

"Hi Lex." Mark greeted her quietly. Lexie was thrilled that he had addressed her by one of her nicknames that he had used for her when they were together. She walked over to him and sat down on one of the other chairs that was close to him.

"So I hear Sloane gave the baby to you." Lexie commented. She knew Mark had wanted this and for that reason, she was happy for him. He had finally gotten what he wanted.

"The family wasn't as amazing as she initially thought." Mark informed Lexie with a slight nod of his head. It was not Lexie's business why Sloane had changed her mind.

"Meredith said that the mom's dad molested her." Lexie told Mark. Mark's smile turned into a frown. He could not believe that Meredith was passing that along. That was a very personal matter and Mark had hoped that Derek and Meredith could keep it between them.

"I always knew Meredith was chatty." Mark muttered darkly.

"Mark, don't be angry with her. I asked why Sloane changed her mind and she told me." Lexie told him. She did not want Mark to be angry with her sister. Mark knew that he could not blame Meredith or Lexie for being curious what had caused Sloane to change her mind.

"I'm not Lex." Mark promised her. Lexie was glad to hear that Mark wasn't angry with her sister. It wouldn't be right for Mark to be angry with Meredith.

"That's good, because she did not intend any harm when she told me what had happened." Lexie told Mark, nibbling nervously on her lower lip. God Mark thought she looked sexy when she nibbled her bottom lip. He hated that Lexie was someone else's woman to kiss and touch. He hated losing yet another woman to Alex Karev. He still loved her and he had never stopped loving her. He had managed not to think about her when he was in LA, but on the flight home, she was the only one he thought of. He wanted to build a life and start a family with Lexie and Lexie only. No other woman was the right one for him. Not Addison or Teddy. He wanted Lexie.

"Lex, I'm still in love with you." Mark finally told her as he adjusted the hold he had on his grandson so he wouldn't drop the baby. Lexie couldn't believe what she was hearing. Mark was finally confessing to her that he was still in love with her? What about Teddy? And Lexie still had Alex. She was taken. She had a boyfriend. As much as it pained her, she whispered,

"I have a boyfriend Mark."

"You could have a family with me." Mark whispered back, his voice low and on the verge of desperate. Mark didn't do desperate, but he could not lose Lexie. He knew that without her he would go back to the self destructive manwhore ways that he had begin before he started dating Teddy. Lexie realized that he must have called it quits with Teddy and she was elated, but there was still the Alex factor.

"I'm sorry Mark, I can't…I just can't." Lexie whispered apologetically as she stood up and hurried out of the nursery. It wasn't that she didn't want Mark, she did, but she wasn't sure that she was ready to be a parent to a baby that wasn't theirs together. Once she was out of the nursery, she let the tears fall down her cheeks. She knew that Mark would be hurt by her rejection and Lexie hated hurting someone she loved. Mark had watched her leave the nursery and once the door shut behind her, Mark looked down at his grandson and sighed.

"I guess it's just you and me kiddo." Mark commented shakily. Mark was still scared that he couldn't handle single parenting, but he was determined to get this right. He needed to redeem himself in his eyes for the way he had handled Samantha's news nineteen years ago.

Lexie was still upset as she walked down the hallway. She knew that she had to get ready to scrub in on Dr. Altman's repair of a ruptured aorta so she made her way to the elevator. She knew that she desperately had to pull herself together before she got to Dr. Altman. She couldn't let anyone know that she was upset. She walked right past Sloane Riley's room and she heard the teenager call her name.

"Lexie, Lexie?"

Lexie knew that she would not be able to avoid going into Sloane's room. She had definitely not planned on seeing the girl again. Lexie always tried not to be rude even to people she did not like so, she turned on her heel and walked into Sloane's hospital room.

"What do you need?" Lexie asked, figuring that slipping into doctor mode was the best way to handle the awkwardness that she was feeling.

"You to tell me why you are crying." Sloane replied.

"It's nothing Sloane. When are you getting out of here?" Lexie asked. She was trying to change the subject and she hoped that Sloane would let her. She guessed that Sloane was leaving that day because she had street clothes on.

"Mom's coming to get me. She'll be here in a few minutes. Now tell me why you look like a blubbering mess?" Sloane answered rather quickly. She would not let Lexie change the subject that easily. Lexie was panicking. She did not want to be in the room when Samantha Riley arrived in her daughter's room. That would just take the awkwardness factor to new levels.

"I think I just broke your dad's heart." Lexie finally replied, knowing that she couldn't keep this to herself. Of course confiding in Sloane Riley hadn't been in her plans.

"I messed it up for both of you and I am sorry for that." Sloane replied quietly.

"No you didn't. It was me. I couldn't understand why he chose you over me." Lexie confessed.

"He should have chose you. I am just a stupid slut who let a guy have her way too quickly and wasn't careful." Sloane whispered.

"If you hadn't come here, you would be saddled with a baby that you admit you aren't ready for. At least this way your dad gets what he wanted." Lexie pointed out.

"But if I hadn't come at all, he would still have what he wanted…You." Sloane argued.

"We will be okay Sloane." Lexie assured the young woman.

"I'm the one who caused you two to break up. I should be the one to fix it." Sloane insisted.

"Sloane, you are eighteen. Enjoy getting your life back and don't worry about your dad and I." Lexie insisted.

"Will you get back together?" Sloane asked. Despite the age difference between her dad and Lexie, Sloane knew that her dad would need help with the baby and she wanted him to turn to Lexie for that help. Sloane Riley had turned Mark's world completely on it's head on Thanksgiving and Sloane wanted Mark's world to right itself. To her, that included reconciling with Lexie.

"I can't answer that yet Sloane." Lexie told her honestly. She had a lot of things to consider before she could even think those thoughts.

"Don't let the baby be the reason you two can't work things out with my dad." Sloane insisted. She knew that was Lexie's primary reason and she really didn't want it to be. Sloane may have just met her dad six months ago, but she still wanted him to be happy. With Lexie he had been happy.

"I uh, should probably go." Lexie told Sloane nervously inching her way to the door. She needed to leave before Samantha arrived.

"Don't let my mother intimidate you." Sloane told Lexie. Really Samantha Riley was not an intimidating woman.

"No really I have to go. I have to operate on a woman's heart." Lexie insisted. She was thanking her lucky stars for Dr. Altman right now.

"Good luck then." Sloane told Lexie. Lexie nodded before she hurried out of the room. When she was all the way down by the elevators waiting for it to come back up, she saw a tall blonde woman enter Sloane's room. Lexie couldn't help but be curious about her. Not enough to go back down to Sloane's room though. She got on the elevator and rode down to the cardiac ICU where Teddy was waiting for her.

Mark was still holding his grandson in the nursery and he figured he ought to go say goodbye to his daughter before she left with her mother to go home to Boston. Mark knew that Samantha was likely there by now, but his desire to say goodbye to his daughter overrode any anxiety he had over reuniting with the woman with whom he shared a daughter with. He put the baby in his bed and then stood up and walked out of the nursery. Her door was open when he reached her hospital room so he just went right in. The first person he saw was a tall slender woman with green eyes. He knew this was Samantha. Despite them having only a quick fling nineteen years ago, he knew it was Samantha instantly.

"Hello." Mark greeted her. He wasn't really sure what the rules were on this sort of thing. Before Samantha could respond, Sloane came out of the bathroom. She saw that her dad had come and she was happy to see that.

"Hello Mark." Samantha replied calmly. She had written him out of her life a long time ago and she had no issues with him anymore.

"Mom, I'm all ready." Sloane commented. Samantha smiled at her daughter, knowing that they were both excited and happy to be returning home together.

"I'd like to keep in touch with her, if that's okay with you?" Mark questioned as he looked at Samantha. He figured in this case, that was the polite thing to do since Samantha had been their daughter's sole caregiver for eighteen years.

"She's an adult. It's up to her." Samantha told Mark. Mark turned to Sloane and waited for her response.

"Yeah I'd like that. Just don't mention the baby." Sloane told her father. Sloane knew that it would be difficult for her to hear about her son.

"I think I can do that." Mark told her. Mark knew that hearing about her son would be difficult so in order to have a relationship with her, Mark would refrain from mentioning the baby.

"Okay, let's get out of here." Sloane commented impatiently. Mark went and let an orderly know that they were ready. Once Sloane and her mother were in Samantha's car and driving away, Mark decided to go back up to the nursery to sit with his grandson. He was grateful for Callie and Derek who were busily turning his apartment into baby land while he was here sorting everything out. He knew that no one would ever compare to Lexie and Mark vowed to do whatever he could to get her to dump Alex and return to him. Lexie belonged with him and he wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of his life with her.


	3. Desperation turned to Hope

A/N Sorry a thousand times over for the lack of updates. First my computer crashed, then I started summer class. Today was my last day so I am finally back to writing.

Desperation turned to Hope

Six months ago if someone had told Mark that he'd be taking care of his newborn grandson, Mark would have called them insane. But he was and it was 2am in the morning and Mark feel like he was losing his mind. As a doctor he was used to the odd hours but they were usually spent at the hospital, not in his apartment with a screaming 3 day old baby. Mark hadn't slept in the 3 days since the baby was born and he was desperate for a good night sleep. Derek had offered to help tonight as had Callie and Arizona, but Mark had been adamant that he wanted to do this on his own. Sort of pennance for not being there when Sloane was a baby, forcing Samantha to do everything on her own.

Mark had tried everything with the baby who had yet to be named. He had rocked the baby, fed him changed him, everything. Mark was growing desperate and he needed help from someone who knew how to handle inconsolable babies. Callie, Arizona and even Derek didn't know what the hell they were doing. Mark could have called Lexie, but he didn't want to bother her. He knew how precious sleep was to a resident. So then his thoughts turned to his surrogate mother. Carolyn Shepherd had had five kids so she surely knew what to do. Mark didn't even care that she likely didn't know the whole story. He vaguely remembered a white lie Derek had told his mother about why they couldn't come to Thanksgiving dinner in New York. Mark just needed the baby to stop screaming and go to sleep.

Mark didn't care that it was 5am in New York. He was almost positive that Carolyn was up anyway. Mark put the baby down in his crib and grabbed the phone and dialed a number he knew by heart. It hadn't changed in over 30 years. The phone rang twice before Carolyn picked up.

"Mark, why on earth are you calling at 2am your time?" Carolyn demanded but with a note of concern in her voice. She was concerned that something had happened to Derek. Mark never called her on his own. So she knew whatever was going on, was big and very important.

"I can't get him to sleep. He keeps screaming and I don't know what to do." Mark told Carolyn in a very panicky tone. His panic was coming from utter exhaustion. Carolyn felt as though she was missing something here. It didn't sound as though it was about Derek. In fact it sounded like Mark was talking about a baby. As far as Carolyn knew Mark did not have a baby and if he had gone and become a father without telling her there was going to be hell to pay because no one had told her.

"What are you talking about?" Carolyn asked, clearly bewildered.

Then Mark recalled what he had just thought about before he called Carolyn. She didn't know all of this. She didn't know about Sloane or about his grandson.

"My daughter gave me my grandson." Mark told her. Of course it was more complex than that, but Mark was operating on very little sleep.

Carolyn was flabbergasted. She had had no idea that this was going on. She could hear the exhaustion in his voice so she decided to save the lecture for after he had gotten sleep.

"Can you please come to Seattle? I don't know what I am doing." Mark told her. He was desperate and he didn't want to bother his friends.

"I'll be on the first plane out." Carolyn promised. She knew Mark was overwhelmed, but she was surprised that Lexie wasn't helping him. She wondered if they had split after his daughter came into the picture.

"Can you bring Amelia and Nancy with you?" Mark asked. Amelia wouldn't ridicule him and Nancy had 4 kids of her own and she'd be a huge help.

"Actually Amy's in LA." Carolyn told Mark. Mark was confused and wondered if it had to do that the case that Addison had called Derek about a month or so ago.

"Get them both here." Mark repeated. He was desperate and he needed as much help as he could get. Kathleen would wonder if this was psychologically the best thing for the baby and for Mark. Jenna wouldn't be all that supportive. Mark needed his family and friends to be supportive. He was doing this as a single father.

"Where's Derek, why isn't he helping you?" Carolyn asked.

"He offered but he hadn't gotten time alone with Meredith for awhile so I told him to spend time with her and that I'd be okay." Mark replied.

"I like Meredith. Lord knows I like her better than Addison, but Derek should be with you, helping you out. Brothers are more important than fiancées." Carolyn told Mark. Then she felt bad for blurting something out that she should have kept to herself. In his exhausted haze Mark realized that Derek never told Carolyn that he and Meredith had gotten Post It married. Quite possibly the stupidest thing Mark had ever heard of.

"I'll be okay Mrs. Shepherd." Mark assured her.

"Humph." Carolyn grumbled. She was going to have a little talk with her son about the importance of family.

"Just come okay." Mark told her quietly.

"I'll be there with Amy and Nancy as soon as humanly possible." Carolyn promised. She rather abruptly hung up the phone and left Mark staring at the receiver in surprise.

A short distance away, Derek's phone was ringing. He just wanted sleep. After two rounds of sex with his lovely post it wife, he needed sleep. He reached for his phone and realized it was his mother calling. Now he was concerned. He sat up in bed and answered the phone.

"Everything okay Ma?" Derek asked in a hushed voice so as not to wake Meredith.

"You get your ass over to your brother's apartment right now young man." Carolyn growled. Derek froze. How had she found out about Mark and Sloane and the baby? Surely Mark hadn't called her at 5am her time.

"Who told you?" Derek asked. He couldn't believe that his mother had taken that tone with him. He wasn't ten years old anymore.

"Mark did. He called me clearly overwhelmed and he said he refused your offer of help. He's got a 3 day old baby and he appears to be alone." Carolyn answered.

"Ma, I know you want to help but Mark wanted to do this on his own. I guess to prove something." Derek told her.

"He asked me to come and to bring Nancy and Amy." Carolyn replied. Derek got out of bed and wandered downstairs so he could talk louder. Thankfully he had to good sense to put on pants after sex with Meredith. When Derek heard what his mother had said, he exhaled slowly. Mark really must have been overwhelmed. Especially to ask for Nancy and Amy.

"I'll get dressed and get over there right now." Derek finally told his mother. Carolyn Shepherd really knew how to make her son feel horribly guilty for not insisting on staying with Mark tonight.

"Thank you. I know he'll appreciate it even if he doesn't show it." Carolyn told Derek. Derek hung up the phone and on impulse he went back upstairs and knocked on Alex's door. Thankfully Alex was working tonight. Derek knew that Mark needed Lexie. He needed her love and support and Derek was going to make sure it was given. He didn't want to wait so he went in and turned on the light. Lexie shifted in the bed and then her brown eyes opened and she squinted as her eyes got used to the light.

"What is it?" Lexie mumbled.

"Come with me Lexie. Mark needs you." Derek told her. Lexie loved and missed Mark and she knew that was very obvious to everyone at the hospital. Still she had turned his pseudo marriage proposal down three days ago and she hadn't seen Mark since. Lexie didn't have to think long before she nodded at Derek. She knew there was a chance that he wouldn't want to see her, but she wanted to help.

"Meet you by your car in 5."Lexie told him. Derek smiled and closed the door behind him. Lexie got dressed in record time. By the time she was out by Derek's car only 3 minutes had passed. Derek came flying out of the house, pulling on his jacket as he did so. He had left a note for Meredith so she knew where they had gone.

Derek was normally a very safe calm driver, but this time he was flying to make it to Mark's place in record time. He wasn't sure why he was speeding. As far as he knew there was no emergency. He did feel bad that his mother had to tell him to get over to Mark's place. He knew that his mother was still in shock that her surrogate son had a daughter and a grandson. He had heard that tone in her voice. Derek was very glad that no one had told her that Addison had known too or that might have put Carolyn over the edge. Once they got to the apartment complex, both Derek and Lexie hurried upstairs. When they stepped off of the elevator they could hear the faint screams of a baby. They both knew that was Mark's grandson. They also both wondered why the noise was faint. As they approached the apartment door, the screams were louder. Thankfully Lexie still had her key and she put it into the lock and unlocked the door and stepped in.

Mark is in the living area holding a screaming baby boy whose face was bright red from the screams. Derek could tell that Mark was about ready to drop from exhaustion. Lexie thought she saw tears of frustration in her ex boyfriend's eyes. Mark was shocked when he realized his best friend and ex girlfriend were there in his apartment. If he was a little more awake, he'd wonder how they got in. Lexie calmly walked over to Mark and took the baby from his arms. Lexie was sure that the baby was sensing the tension that Mark was feeling and she knew that the baby needed to be in the arms of a calm person.

"Mom called, didn't she?" Mark asked quietly as he looked over at Derek. Derek nodded as he walked over to where Mark was still standing.

"You should have called me and told me you were overwhelmed." Derek told his best friend. He felt guilty for not being there tonight.

"When have I ever admitted to being overwhelmed Derek?" Mark asked. Derek knew that Mark was right. Lexie was now sitting on the couch rocking the baby and humming a soft tune. For the first time all night, the baby was quiet. That didn't make Mark feel any better. In fact he felt worse. How could he not calm his own grandson down. He felt useless.

"Go sleep Mark. We've got it from here." Derek told Mark. Mark was exhausted and so he nodded and disappeared into his bedroom. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

Three hours later, the baby had been sleeping for two hours and Lexie was comfortable holding him. Derek wasn't doing anything. He was just sitting in a chair talking to Lexie. Just then Derek looked down at his watch and swore. He needed to head into the hospital for a craniotomy at looked at Lexie apologetically and Lexie smiled.

"Go Derek. I've got this." Lexie reassured her brother in law. Derek smiled at her and at the sleeping baby who did indeed have the Sloan nose.

"Call me later and let me know how Mark is?" Derek told Lexie as he reached the door. Lexie nodded from her place on the couch. Derek left the apartment and Lexie was once again in silence. She had come to the realization that Alex was a very poor substitute for Mark. She loved Mark and she wanted to have a family with him. Even if that family included a grandson that she had actually resented. Even if that made her grandma. Alex and her were never supposed to be serious and she wished that she had never started sleeping with Alex again. After all he had been the one who had forgotten he had slept with her.

Finally she heard footsteps coming into the kitchen area. She assumed that Mark was finally awake and Lexie hoped that he had gotten some well deserved rest. She could hear him fumbling in the kitchen and that told her that he was still pretty tired. When he came into the living area and sat down on the chair that Derek had vacated a short time ago, Lexie smiled at him. Mark managed a small smile.

"So he's finally asleep huh?" Mark murmured. He still felt like a failure for not being able to get him to sleep.

"Yeah. He looks so peaceful when he's sleeping." Lexie admitted. Mark stood up and walked over to the couch and sat down beside Lexie. He would do anything in the world to get her to choose him. He loved her and he knew he couldn't do this parenting thing without her. He didn't have the patience for it. Mark was looking at her and Lexie could feel it. She looked up at him, their faces were only inches apart. Mark wanted to kiss her, yes he wanted to more than anything, but he would not be the dirty mistress again. If she wanted him, she would have to prove it by ending things with Alex first.

"Mark." Lexie whispered. Mark swallowed hard and resisted the urge to kiss her senseless right there. He loved the way she said his name.

"Lex." Mark whispered back. He could see Lexie's eyes brimming with unshed tears and he wanted to be able to stop her tears.

"It's not right. Not yet." Lexie whispered as she pulled away from Mark. She hated pulling away but this just wasn't the right time or place for her to forget everything and kiss the man she loved senseless. Mark felt his heart drop into his stomach when she pulled away. He knew that he wanted to make a life with her. He just hoped she wanted the same thing with him.

"Then when Lexie? When am I going to be the one you want?" Mark demanded, his sleep deprivation getting the best of him.

"I don't know okay? All I know is that I loved you more than anything and then when your daughter showed up, you put me on the backburner. You put **us** on the back burner. I became unimportant to you as you fought to deal with your guilt. Then you offered to help her raise the baby. Without even discussing it with me first." Lexie snapped. All of her pent up anger was exploding.

"I was trying to help my daughter." Mark argued.

"I would have dealt with it if you had discussed it with me first, but my feelings weren't even a consideration to you. You dropped everything for a young woman who you didn't even know." Lexie snapped again.

"That's what you do for family. You make sacrifices." Mark argued.

"I still love you Mark…Alex and I were never anything serious." Lexie whispered, desperate to leave the past in the past now that she had said her piece. Plus she kind of understood where Mark had come from. He had grown up with only the Shepherds as his true family and when someone with his DNA had appeared, he had wanted to do right by them.

"Marry me Lexie."Mark whispered. He was sure he was beginning to sound like a broken record, but he wanted to be able to call her his fiancée. He wanted to share the parenting thing with her because he was sure he'd fail as a solo parent.

"Mark…"Lexie whispered. She hated having to say no to him, and she really couldn't think of a reason to say no.

"Okay, lets start slowly. We didn't do slow when we first started, so let's do that now." Mark suggested. Lexie thought that was a good idea. They hadn't started off with a date. They had started with her asking him to teach her and stripping.

"I do love you." Lexie told him.

"I know,and we have to do it right this time. I want to start off by taking you on a date." Mark told her. Of course he loved her but he wanted to put the past in the past. As of right now he was a single dad and she was a friend turning into more. Privately Mark wasn't sure he'd be able to start over. Not with her, but if Derek could do it with Meredith, Mark was sure he and Lexie could do it.

"I'd like that. No more making decisions without me?" Lexie asked softly.

"No, I want your opinion on everything that concerns us." Mark told her. He wanted to kiss her, but he knew she needed to end whatever she was doing with Alex before he would feel comfortable doing that. Lexie could feel her eyelids getting heavy and she rested her head on Mark's shoulder with the baby still in her arms.

"Sleep Lex. I'll sleep too." Mark told her. Lexie nodded and within seconds she was asleep. Mark quickly followed. The three of them slept with the two adults dreaming of new beginnings and the hope for a future together.


	4. Invasion

A/N After the Grey's Season Finale boy do I need some Mark/Lexie.

Invasion

Mark had fallen back asleep while Lexie went to go speak with Alex. She knew that Mark was the one for her and she was sick of having to deny that. By the time she returned, Mark was awake holding his grandson who was once again screaming at the top of his tiny lungs. Lexie knew that Mark had limited patience when there was a screaming baby or child. Apparently he had found patience in the form of his newborn grandson. Lexie walked over to him and once again took the baby from his arms. Mark was getting frustrated. He didn't seem to be able to comfort his grandson. He really wasn't good with babies and he was starting to realize that maybe he needed parenting classes to help him get comfortable with parenting.

"I can't handle this." Mark told Lexie as she walked around the apartment, rocking the baby in her arms.

"Yes you can. You are a new father. A single father at that. It takes adjusting." Lexie assured him.

"You are going to help though right?" Mark asked nervously. Mark really didn't want to do this on his own. If he did this on his own, then he'd have a better chance of screwing up.

"Of course. I'm here to help you Mark." Lexie reassured him. Mark watched Lexie rock his grandson and he couldn't help but let a smile escape his lips. He loved watching her with his grandson. She looked so comfortable with a baby. She looked beautiful. Mark wondered how he had gotten so lucky to get her back.

"How did Karev take the news?" Mark asked. Lexie shrugged slightly so as not to disrupt the baby.

"He's okay. He claimed to know it was coming." Lexie told him. Alex hadn't been too surprised. Lexie suspected that he had just been waiting for the other shoe to drop metaphorically. Mark didn't really care how Alex had taken it. He was just glad that Lexie had ended it with him so that she could be with Mark.

"Karev doesn't always get the girl." Mark commented with a smug smile crossing his lips. Lexie shot him a disapproving glance. She really didn't want to see Mark be smug. That was not one of his most charming qualities. Mark stopped smiling smugly and just smiled apologetically at Lexie. Finally the baby had fallen back asleep in Lexie's arms with his little hands balled up under his chin. Lexie put him back in his crib as Mark came up behind her and pulled her body into his arms.

"I love you." Mark whispered against her hair. Mark knew that they had decided to start slowly but he couldn't help but want to be honest with Lexie. He loved her and he wanted to spend the rest of his life with this woman. Mark knew that she loved him too even if she wasn't ready to admit that to him just yet.

"Mark, we agreed to take it slowly." Lexie reminded him softly.

"Well maybe I changed my mind. Maybe I want the freedom to tell you how I feel without thinking that we'll screw things up by being honest." Mark told her. Lexie chewed on her lower lip wondering if maybe Mark was right. They had already gone through so much that maybe it was pointless to expect to be able to go back to the very beginning when she had asked him to teach her.

"Okay." Lexie whispered. Mark flashed her another quick smile and he brought his lips to hers. He had missed this with her. The ability to just grab her and kiss her whenever he wanted to. Of course now he had the added complication of a grandson but right now that baby was sleeping and Mark wanted to focus on kissing Lexie.

"I love you too." Lexie murmured between soft kisses. Mark was sure that life couldn't get much better than this. He had his grandson and he had Lexie.

Derek had been able to slip out of the hospital to go pick up his sisters and mother at the airport. He hadn't been able to call Mark since he had left his apartment hours ago and he hadn't heard from Mark. Derek figured that Mark was doing okay and that Lexie was likely still with him. Lexie was good for Mark. Derek had been one of the main people opposed to their relationship but Lexie made Mark happy and Derek wanted that for his best friend. He wanted Mark to feel the kind of love that Derek felt every day with Meredith.

Because of the latest security measures at the airport Derek could no longer go to the gate to meet his mother and oldest sister's plane. He decided to wait for them by the escalator. Amelia's plane would be coming in a little later so once he had Nancy and his mother, then they'd all wait for Amelia's plane. Derek had gotten there just as the plane from New York was unloading. He didn't understand why Nancy had flown in with his mother when Nancy lived in Connecticut, but he didn't dwell on that thought for long. Less than fifteen minutes later he found himself being hugged by his mother and then his sister.

"Where's the baby?" Carolyn asked as soon as she let go of Derek. Carolyn had hoped to see her surrogate son's grandson waiting with Derek. Did that make her surrogate great grandma? Carolyn wasn't sure what she was.

"Yeah I thought you'd bring him." Nancy complained. Nancy on the other hand couldn't think of herself as Mark's sister because she had slept with Mark on more than one occasion. That would make her not related to Mark's grandson in any way.

"You guys do realize that it's Mark's grandson right? Not my son or Mark's son." Derek reminded them.

"Yes Derek we realize that but where is he?" Nancy demanded.

"We finally got him to sleep so he's sleeping and so is Mark." Derek told them both. Both Nancy and Carolyn were disappointed but Derek knew that once they got to see the baby, their disappointment would be gone.

Apparently Amelia's flight had gotten in early. Only five minutes after Derek was reunited with his mother and Nancy, Amelia came flying down the escalator. Derek and Amelia's relationship had been very rocky for awhile and Derek was hoping that he and Amelia could use this time to mend fences.

"Amy isn't high, is she?" Derek asked his mother in a low whisper.

"I sure hope not." Carolyn whispered back. Carolyn hated that Amelia's addiction had caused such a rift between Amelia and Derek.

"If she is, I know Mark won't let her near the baby." Derek told his mother. Amelia heard the tail end of the conversation and she already looked hurt. Addiction was not a joke and she would be battling this all her life. She was healthy and happy right now.

"Derek do you really think I'd come to see the baby if I was high?" Amelia demanded as soon as she stepped off of the escalator.

"I hope not." Derek told her simply. Derek knew that Amelia had struggled with addiction but he had no sympathy for her.

"Because I wouldn't. I'm clean and sober as the day I was born Derek so stop with the accusations." Amelia informed him, clearly irritated with her brother. She turned to her mother and big sister and hugged them. She hadn't seen them since she had made the move from New York to Los Angeles.

"Where's the baby?" Amelia asked.

"He's finally asleep and so I didn't want to interrupt." Derek told Amelia.

"Does the baby have a name yet?" Amelia asked finally looking at Derek.

"Not unless Mark came up with one since I've been gone." Derek told Amelia.

"That poor kid has to have a name." Nancy agreed.

"I mean he's stuck with Mark as a single father. He doesn't even have a chance not to be screwed up." Amelia commented with a shake of her head. Both Carolyn and Derek shot Amelia a look. Carolyn believed Mark could do this and Derek wanted to believe that Mark could handle this on his own.

"Amelia, use that filter." Derek reminded her. Amelia was sick of everyone reminding her to filter her words. She was a grown woman and yet she had her former sister in law and her brother reminding her to filter the words that spilled out of her mouth. Amelia resisted the very strong urge to clobber her brother. She was an adult and she didn't want to start World War Three in the airport.

Finally Derek and his mother and sisters arrived at Mark's apartment and it was strangely quiet. Derek assumed that both Mark and the baby were sleeping. Maybe Lexie had left already. But Lexie had no way to get home because Derek had stranded her when he had gone off to work. Derek was grateful that Mark had given him a key because he needed to let his sisters and mother descend on the yet to be named baby boy soon or else they were going to drive him to the nuthouse. When Derek unlocked the door he saw Mark and Lexie together on the couch sound asleep. Derek flipped on the light and that woke Lexie and Mark up rather quickly.

"What the hell Derek?" Mark complained as she struggled to his feet. Lexie's pale skin flushed pink as though she was a teenager who'd been caught with her boyfriend.

"Nice welcome Marky." Nancy teased him. Mark shot a glare in Nancy's direction when he heard her words. God he hated that she called him Marky. That was her little nickname for him. It always made him feel as though he was five years old. Lexie was doing her best, attempting to smile at this situation when really all she wanted to do was crawl under a blanket and never come out. Derek's sisters were Mark's family as well and she felt rather intimidated by them.

"Lexie it's good to see you again dear." Carolyn greeted Lexie with a smile and a hug. Being hugged by Carolyn made Lexie relax almost instantly.

"So this is the sister of the infamous slutty intern." Amelia commented.

"She's not slutty Amy and she's not an intern anymore. She's a resident." Derek told Amelia with a look of exhaustion on his was sick of Meredith being called the slutty intern.

"Meredith's my half sister." Lexie told Amelia quietly. Not that Amelia deserved an explanation but Lexie felt like she needed to correct the youngest Shepherd sister.

"So Mark, where is he?" Carolyn asked, hoping both Nancy and Amelia would just shut up. The whole slutty intern thing was old and she was sick of it being rehashed by Nancy in particular.

"He's sleeping in my bedroom." Mark told Carolyn. Carolyn, Nancy and Amelia followed Mark into his bedroom to get a look at the sleeping baby. Lexie followed the group into Mark's bedroom but she stood back, suddenly feeling like an outsider. Derek had already slipped out the door, wanting desperately to get away from Amelia and Nancy and his mother.

Mark turned around and saw Lexie hanging out by the held out his hand and Lexie took it and went to his side. Mark wanted Lexie by him as much as possible. They had missed so much time together and Mark wanted desperately to make up for that.

"He's got your nose Mark." Carolyn whispered.

"That's the Sloan nose." Mark pointed out.

"Does your daughter have that too?" Carolyn asked.

"God I still can't believe you have a daughter Mark." Amelia commented with a shake of her head.

"I can. He hasn't exactly taken a vow of celibacy." Nancy pointed out.

"But he's got an endless supply of condoms." Amelia countered.

"Hey, I asked Mark a question. Let him answer." Carolyn told both sisters quickly before they could continue the conversation.

"Yeah she does." Mark answered Carolyn's question.

"She looks a lot like Mark." Lexie told everyone quietly.

"Do you have a picture of her?"Carolyn asked. Mark let go of Lexie to cross the room to his dresser. He pulled a silver frame off of the dresser and handed it to Carolyn. Amelia and Nancy looked over Carolyn's shoulder.

"She's beautiful Mark." Carolyn told him simply.

"No wonder she got knocked up." Nancy commented. Nancy had to admit that Mark and the nameless, faceless woman had made a beautiful woman together.

"If I wasn't completely straight…"Amelia trailed off suggestively.

"Amelia" Mark growled. That was his daughter and he really didn't need to hear what Amelia was likely thinking.

"That was taken at Derek's Christmas dinner last year." Lexie informed Nancy, Carolyn and Amelia softly.

Just then, the baby started to stir and before long he had erupted into a wail. Mark went to grab him, but Carolyn shooed him away.

"Go take a walk with Lexie." Carolyn told him.

"Sure you can handle this?" Mark asked a little uncertainly.

"I have 5 children and fourteen grandchildren. Fifteen if you count your daughter. Go." Carolyn assured Mark. Mark didn't want to argue and he trusted Carolyn. Nancy had six children so he trusted her as well. Amelia was a different subject altogether.

"Oh come on Mark I'm not going to hurt him." Amelia exclaimed when she caught Mark's uneasy glance.

"Okay, we're going." Mark told the three Shepherd women as he grabbed Lexie's hand and headed towards the door. Finally they were going to be able to get out of the apartment and have some time to themselves. Once they got into the hallway, Mark kissed Lexie softly as his hands tangled up in her hair. Lexie ruined the kiss when she started to giggle in the middle of it. Mark pulled away and smiled at her.

"Let's go."He told her,still smiling at her.

"Okay." Lexie told him simply. She loved him and she couldn't wait to spend time alone with him. They needed time alone together and Derek's mother and sisters had given them that gift.


	5. From A to Z

**A/N All my muses are back!**

From A to Z

It was days like this that Mark wondered what on earth had possessed him to agree to have a party. Especially a party like this. He knew that the baby needed a name but having Callie and Amelia decide together that there needed to be a naming party was going to drive him crazy. Both women had promised him that he could veto any name that he honestly hated. Every person coming to this party was bringing a name and couples had to bring two names. Mark knew that they would end up with some geeky names, some classic names and some downright off the wall names. Both Carolyn and Nancy had been against this idea but when Amelia and Callie got ideas into their heads there was no stopping them.

Both Callie and Amelia had been in and out of the apartment all day which left Mark and Lexie very little alone time and Mark had to keep his bedroom door closed so that the noise wouldn't wake the baby. Thankfully there was going to be food at this party because Mark could not remember when he had eaten a good solid meal.

He was also thankful that Nancy and Amelia would be on their way back to their lives tomorrow. Nancy had been nothing more than a royal pain in the ass to him during the entire visit. Yes he loved Nancy like a sister but her constant badgering about how he was going to raise his grandson was really wearing on him. He really didn't like anyone telling him how he should raise the baby. After all he was nervous enough about his skills as a father and Nancy sure as hell wasn't making him feel any better. Amelia had been a big help to him, especially with the baby, but even she was starting to wear on him. Especially with this impromptu party that had been sprung on him.

He was thankful for Carolyn though. She had been a huge help to him over the past few days. She had fed the baby and changed him whenever Mark needed her to. She rocked him to sleep when Mark fell asleep before he did. He knew that the baby would eventually be his responsibility and that Carolyn couldn't stay in Seattle forever. Mark was in no hurry to get her to leave. She promised she would stay for at least another week and maybe even longer if Mark wanted her to.

The apartment was a flurry of activity this evening. People were coming in and out of there and Mark was convinced he was going to snap. The exhaustion that came with taking care of a newborn was catching up to him. Sure he had help but he still did a lot of the work that was involved in taking care of a newborn.

"You know you have officially lost your mind, right Callie?" Mark asked his best friend as he watched her scurry around the apartment.

"Sheesh Mark, be happy that we are doing this for you. That kid needs a name." Amelia pointed out as she walked up alongside Callie.

"Yeah but a party?" Mark questioned both women skeptically.

"Many tribes hold a naming ceremony for their babies." Amelia pointed out.

"Yeah but they don't put the name choice in someone else's hands." Mark pointed out.

"Hey, we said you could veto any name that you hate." Callie reminded him quickly.

"Please Mark, don't name the kid Felix." Amelia told him. Mark looked at her quizzically. Where had _that_ come from? Mark had no plans to name his grandson…son Felix. That reminded him that he still needed to figure out if the baby was going to be raised as his son or his grandson.

"I have booze!" Called a voice from the doorway. Mark recognized that voice right away and he wondered how Callie and Amelia had been able to coax Cristina Yang into coming to his apartment for a party that had to do with a baby. Mark figured that they had probably promised her free and unlimited access to alcohol.

"We're here!" Called another voice. Mark recognized this one too. This voice belonged to Derek, The guy who was going to be the baby's Godfather. Derek and Meredith walked into the apartment with a gift in tow. God Mark prayed Callie had told everyone not to bring a gift. Mark wasn't sure what he would do if every person or every couple brought a gift.

"Yang? Where's Hunt?" Callie called over to the bar area where Cristina was already standing.

"He's coming straight from the hospital ." Cristina informed Callie.

"Where is that baby?" Demanded Arizona as soon as she walked into the apartment. She was still not sure about having kids but she did have to admit that Mark's grandson was simply adorable.

"He's in my room." Mark called over his shoulder. He was starting to wonder where Lexie was. He knew that she had to go in to the hospital but he had been under the impression that it would be just a quick trip and she would be back in his arms before long. Arizona made a beeline for Mark's bedroom and he couldn't help but smirk to himself. This was certainly a way to get the blond peds surgeon into his bedroom.

"Don't even think about it Mark." Callie warned. She knew exactly where his mind was going. Mark was about to apologize when Teddy Altman came into the apartment with Bailey and Ben right behind her. Mark had to wonder how else would be coming to this thing. Had Callie invited the entire hospital? Mark hoped not. He had to smile when he saw Arizona emerge from his bedroom with a bundle wrapped in a fleece blanket. He trusted Arizona with his grandson. After all she was a pediatric surgeon for goodness sake.

"Change your mind on babies yet?" Mark called over to Arizona. Arizona turned towards him and glared in his direction. She knew that by not wanting kids she was jepoardizing her relationship with Callie and she was desperately trying to come up with some idea that would keep them both happy. Problem was, there wasn't a really good compromise. Either they didn't have kids and Callie suffered or they did have kids and Arizona suffered.

"I'm here!" Lexie's voice rang out into the apartment a few minutes later. She had gotten held up at the hospital and she had finally been able to sneak out much later than planned. Mark smiled relievedly at Lexie as she reached him and wrapped her arm around his waist. A whole group of people came into his apartment next. April Kepner, Jackson Avery, Alex and Owen all came in at the same time talking about something that had gone on at the hospital.

Now Mark was annoyed at Callie for inviting people he barely knew to his apartment. All he knew about Jackson Avery was that he was cocky but with decent bedside manner. All he knew about April was that she continually got on his nerves with her constantly chipper demeanor.

"Oh Mark? Addison wants to know if she can add a name to the party?" Callie called over the room with her Blackberry in her hand. She had been texting the tall redhead for the past few minutes since the redhead couldn't make it to the party.

"She's not even here." Mark pointed out.

"Yeah but she is responsible for your grandson not being legless." Callie pointed out quickly. Mark sighed, knowing that Callie was right. Without Addison his grandson would have probably lost both legs to the amniotic bands.

"Fine, she can put in a name." Mark agreed. He knew that Lexie was still uncomfortable about his thing with Addison and Mark was working to reassure her that she had nothing to worry about. He suspected that his allowing Addison to put in a name probably hadn't made Lexie all that happy. That was confirmed when Lexie turned her head to look at him questioningly. She couldn't understand why Mark was continually allowing the tall redhead to infringe on his life. True she had assured that his grandson would keep both of his legs but that was where the relationship should have stayed. She didn't like being controlling but she also didn't like the power that Addison exercised over Mark.

"Do all of you exes get to put in names or only the special ones?" Lexie asked. She was trying to control her emotions but really she was upset. Three of Mark's exes got to put their name suggestions in. She understood that Callie was his best friend and Addison had saved his grandsons legs but Teddy? When did Teddy become special enough to get invited to this party? Lexie didn't usually get jealous but now she was starting to think getting back together with Mark so quickly wasn't the best idea.

"Lexie…" Mark warned her. He knew where this was going and he really didn't want to deal with this. Not now when they had an apartment full of people.

"Where's Reed and Charles?" Jackson asked Amelia, thankfully breaking the palpable tension that was growing between Mark and Lexie.

"They're working and they couldn't get it off. Like the Chief." Arizona informed Jackson. If there were two more irritating people than Reed and Charles, Arizona had yet to meet them. Even April wasn't as bad as they were. So Arizona was thankful that she didn't have to deal with them at this party. Everyone knew that they loved each other and yet they couldn't get their crap straight.

"We're here." Called out a voice that Mark knew belonged to Nancy. Nancy and Carolyn had gone out to get the food for the party while Callie and Amelia decorated for the party.

"Thank God, there's food." Alex commented as he made his way over to the kitchen area where Nancy and Carolyn were unpacking the prepared foods and setting them out. They had ordered several party trays yesterday because they knew that they wouldn't have the energy to cook.

"Where's the pot?" Callie asked Mark. Mark tossed her a confused look. He had no idea what pot she was referring to. He hadn't known that pot was going to be needed for a party in which all the food was previously prepared by the people at the deli of the grocery store.

"The pot to put all the name suggestions in. Duh Mark." Amelia informed him. Mark resisted the urge to roll his eyes at Derek's baby sister.

"Grab anything out of the kitchen to use." Mark told both ladies. He turned his gaze back to Lexie and he offered her a smile. He wanted her to know that she had nothing to worry about. Teddy, Addison and Callie were all in the past. She was his future. Lexie didn't return his smile and that alone snapped the smile off of his face.

He watched Amelia go around to the party guests, taking their baby name suggestions and throwing them in the pot. As much as he hated this whole idea, at least the baby would have a name by the end of them evening.

"Okay Robbins you've held that baby long enough. My turn." Called Miranda Bailey as she made her way over to Arizona. Arizona passed the baby to Miranda and almost immediately she missed the weight in her arms. Maybe she could get used to the idea of having a baby in her arms. Maybe she could forfeit the trip to Madrid in favor of staying here, in Seattle with Callie and having lots of little babies.

"You two want kids?' Owen called over to where Miranda and her boyfriend Ben were standing with the baby.

"We're discussing it but Miranda won't say yes until we have something a little more permanent between us." Ben told Owen. Miranda glared at him over the baby's soft head. She couldn't believe that Ben was freely spilling the private information that they had been discussing. It was no one's business if and when they decided to have kids together.

"Wait, you haven't proposed yet?" Derek demanded as he looked at Ben. From all the rumors at the hospital, it sounded like a proposal had already occurred but that Miranda and Ben were just keeping it under wraps for now.

"Nope, because she won't let me." Ben told Derek. Miranda shot him a second glare. It was more complicated than that. The two of them loved each other yes, but so had she and Tucker and look how that one turned out. Miranda was terrified to enter into a second marriage. Scared for herself and her son.

"Okay, let's name this kid." Amelia announced breaking up all conversations that had been going on. Derek and Owen both made a mental note to talk to Ben later when they could get the full story. Nancy put the pot full of tiny scraps of paper down on Mark's lap. Lexie left his side to go stand with Meredith. Lexie was still pretty upset with Mark but she didn't want to ruin this party for him. She knew that he needed help in naming this baby.

Mark didn't like having a party when he was having a disagreement with the woman that he loved. He wished that she would stay by his side as he worked on picking a name for the baby. It didn't feel right, not having her beside him as he made another decision that would affect both of them. The first two names he picked out of the hat were Isaac and Adam. He cringed visibly at both of them. No way would this baby have a first or middle name of Adam or Isaac.

"You hate them both but you still have to guess who picked them." Amelia told him. She could tell that he hated both of those names, in any order.

"Okay, what the hell. Isaac is a pretty biblical name from what I remember of the few times I attended church as a kid. So going by that…April suggested that one." Mark guessed.

"How did you manage to figure that out?" April demanded as her cheeks flushed. She knew she should have gone with a less obvious one.

"Just a lucky guess." Mark told her. He looked around again trying to decide who had suggested Adam.

"Derek had a fish named Adam so this had to be his." Mark finally guessed. Derek was already shaking his head and Callie was laughing.

"I was the one who suggested Adam. I couldn't think of any other name." Callie told Mark, still laughing.

"Okay Calliope, you are never naming our kids. I'll pick the names." Arizona told her. Callie's eyes filled with tears when she heard what Arizona had said. She was basically consenting to having a family. She wanted a family with lots of babies.

"Zona, are you sure?" Callie asked softly. Arizona nodded in answer to the question. She wanted babies with Callie. She knew that Callie would be a fantastic mom and she could not wait to have a family with Callie.

"Yes." Arizona whispered back.

"Okay, this baby still needs a name." Amelia yelled above all the buzz that Callie and Arizona's surprise decision had created. Mark's hand went back into the pot and he fished out two more names. Gabriel and Dakota. Mark was becoming more and more convinced that this was the stupidest way to name a baby. These names were all awful.

"Okay Dakota is one of the weirdest names I've heard in awhile and I'm guessing that whoever suggested this one doesn't really even want to be here. So Cristina, it's got to be yours right?" Mark guessed.

"Wrong." A tipsy Cristina sang out. She was very greatful for alcohol at this party. The tequila was what was keeping her sane during this party.

"Dude it was mine and you're right. I don't really want to be here but Torres threatened me." Alex informed Mark with a shrug of his shoulders. Mark's eyes turned to the second name Gabriel. He recognized the handwriting. The same handwriting that had been on his discharge papers after his penile fracture last year.

"Gabriel is Owen's. I recognize the handwriting." Mark announced to the group. Owen nodded in confirmation and instead of saying something to Owen about the stupid name, Mark pressed on. He wanted to give this kid a name. It was taking too damn long.

He fished out three names this time in hopes that this would go faster. He pulled out Lucas, Liam and Ethan. Finally some good names. Liam and Ethan were less common names which Mark liked. Lucas was too damn common.

"Lucas has to be Addison's. Her friend has a baby named Lucas. I met the baby when I was in LA with Sloane." Mark guessed. Callie was already shaking her head. She knew which one was Addison's and they hadn't seen it yet.

"Nope, it's not Addie's." Callie informed him.

"It's mine." Arizona told him. She could tell that Mark's patience was wearing thin and she was trying to make this easier on him.

"Yes, I think we'll let Zona name our kids." Callie commented with a quick smile. Lucas was much better than Adam.

"I'm going to keep Liam and Ethan on the short list. So no one tell me who suggested those two, okay?" Mark told the group. He fished his hand into the pot again and this time pulled out four slips of paper. Skylar, Jonathan, Blake and Asher. The only one he liked in that group was Asher. That was a great name without sounding too geeky or too common.

"Skylar is another weird one, so this has to be from Cristina." Mark guessed.

"Dammit." Cristina muttered. She didn't really care that Mark had guessed it so quickly but she did wish that she had picked a different name. Maybe not one so obviously different.

"Jonathan is classy. Like Bailey. Bailey's classy." Mark guessed.

"Don't even think of buttering me up Sloan." Miranda warned from her position on the couch with the still unnamed baby boy.

"So that's a confirmation?" Amelia asked hopefully.

"Yes, unfortunately Sloan got it." Miranda confirmed.

"Now, Blake is another odd one. Meredith is this one yours?" Mark asked the woman who was still standing with Lexie.

"No it's not." Meredith informed him. Blake was not a good name for a baby and she hoped Mark wouldn't give the baby that name.

"It's mine." Came a quiet voice from the back. Teddy hadn't spoken during the entire party and she picked this moment to inform the group that Blake was her suggestion.

"I'm putting Asher on the short list so don't tell me who suggested that one." Mark told the group. Callie and Amelia looked at each other at that moment and Lexie happened to see that look. Her stomach tightened. She was willing to bet that she knew exactly who had suggested Asher.

Mark's hands went back into the pot and he fished out three more scraps of paper with names written on them. Dylan, Noah and Ryan. Instantly he knew that Ryan was Carolyn's. The late Christopher Shepherd's middle name had been Ryan. Mark wasn't sure how he knew that, he just did.

"Carolyn, Ryan was yours, right?" Mark asked quietly. Derek, Nancy and Amelia looked away from Mark and towards their mother.

"Yes." Carolyn Shepherd confirmed simply.

"Dad's middle name." Derek murmured. All three siblings were surprised that their mother had suggested that name for Mark's grandson.

Mark liked Noah for a name. Sure it was super common, but it was one of the common names that Mark actually liked.

"Don't tell me who suggested Noah. That's going on the short list." Mark told the group. He looked at the final name in his hand. He knew the writing. He had grown up with the writing.

"Amy, Dylan was yours right?" Mark asked. Amelia was about to yell at him for using the nickname that only Derek and her mother could use, but she didn't.

"Yes." Amelia confirmed. She was never good at names but she had seen this one in a book recently and had liked it.

Mark fished out the last three slips of paper from the stainless steel pot that he was holding on his lap. Logan, Jacob and Caleb were the last three names in the pot. He knew he had four on the short list already and he wanted to add at least one more.

"Jacob has to be Derek's right? Classic Derek." Mark guessed.

"Wrong." Derek told Mark.

"Jacob is mine." Meredith informed Mark. Mark was surprised. Such a classic name from the formerly dark and twisty Meredith Grey? Mark was having a hard time hiding his surprise.

"Caleb is mine." Jackson told Mark. Jackson was getting bored and he really just wanted to leave.

"Okay, we'll keep Logan on the short list so no one tell me who suggested it." Mark told the group. He turned to Amelia who had been writing everything down.

"What names do we have for the short list?" Mark asked. Amelia finished writing something down and then handed it to Mark.

**The Short List**

Liam

Ethan

Asher

Noah

Logan

"Can we leave if we don't want to stay?" Alex asked. His name wasn't on the short list and he really wanted to go back to work. He had eaten the food and pretended to care about the little rugrat's name for as long as he could but he was so done.

"Fine, leave." Callie called to him grumpily.

"Everyone who wants to leave, can go." Nancy announced. She didn't want to be here either but apparently she had to. Mark was family and sometimes you had to do things for family. Even if you didn't want to do them.

More than half the partygoers left the apartment when Nancy made that announcement. The only ones that stayed were: Meredith and Derek, Callie and Arizona, Lexie, Amelia, Nancy and Carolyn and Ben and Miranda. The next order of business would be to narrow down that short list. Something that could probably be easier to do now that more than half of the partygoers had left the apartment.


	6. Little Grey's Victory

**A/N I had just a little bit of an argument with my muse. She won.**

Little Grey's Victory

Amelia Shepherd was one who liked to keep things organized. Even when her own life was a complete disaster, she liked to think that she could keep other people's lives organized. By making lists, putting things in easy to find places, Amelia Shepherd managed the task of organization. With all the names that had been thrown into the pot at this party, Amelia was having to rely on those organizational skills that she prided herself on.

"Okay, now we have to narrow the top five down to the top three." Amelia told the group. Only ten people were left in the apartment which Amelia knew Mark was relieved about.

"How do we do that?" Callie asked. This party may have been organized jointly but she was allowing Amelia to take the lead now.

"Mark picks the top three and then we all vote on what the first name should be. The name that gets the second most votes becomes the middle name." Amelia explained. Mark was thankful that he had picked five good names. These five names would be good middle and first names. All eyes seemed to suddenly be on Mark. Mark shifted uncomfortably on the couch. He may have acted like he enjoyed the attention but right now he wasn't enjoying the attention. He wanted nothing more than for this evening to end and for him to get to spend some time alone with Lexie and the baby.

"Give me the list and a pen Amelia." Mark told her, holding out his hand for the list and pen. Amelia passed the list and the pen to him and Mark looked through the list again. After a few minutes, Mark drew a line through two names. Now the list read like this:

**The Short List**

Liam

Ethan

Asher

Noah

Logan

Now Noah and Logan were off the list and now the people that suggested those names could be revealed. Mark showed everyone the list so that they could see which ones were off the table. When Callie and Amelia noticed that Addison's pick was still in the running, they got nervous. They knew that if Mark picked Addison's name, Lexie would blow a fuse. Even if Mark had no idea who had suggested the last three names until their fates had been decided. Lexie felt as though she was going to vomit. Her pick was still in the running. So was Addison's. She wasn't sure who had picked the third name that was still in the running

"I suggested Logan." Piped in Derek's voice from where he was standing at the bar.

"I suggested Noah." Came a quiet voice. Ben had spoken. For the past forty minutes Miranda and Ben had been engrossed in the infant. Neither one of them had spoken for a significant length of time.

"So we still haven't omitted two out of four of Mark's exes who got to suggest names." Amelia was really just thinking aloud, but Lexie heard her. Mark had FOUR exes at this damn party? She knew about three of them: Callie, Teddy and Addison. Who the hell was the fourth? Mark saw that look on her face and he realized that she must have heard what Amelia had said.

"Amelia, filter!" Mark reminded her rather sharply.

"You aren't my father." Amelia shot back.

"What the hell is going on?" Derek demanded as he moved in to step between Amelia and Mark if he had to. Derek knew that Mark would never lay a hand on any woman out of anger but he also knew that both his best friend and his baby sister had very hot tempers.

"Your sister has a big mouth." Lexie snapped.

"What the hell is going on?" Meredith demanded. She had just returned from the restroom to hear these shouts and sharp voices.

"Apparently my youngest daughter has a big mouth." Carolyn told Meredith with a sigh.

"You have FOUR exes involved in this thing and you never told me?" Lexie demanded as she turned to face Mark. Her temper was rising and she needed answers from Mark.

"You knew Callie and Teddy were exes. Addison too but what you didn't know is I slept with Nancy." Mark told her. He wasn't quiet enough and soon enough the whole apartment had heard. Mark wasn't going to add that it had happened on more than one occasion Nancy put her face in her hands. She couldn't believe that Mark had just blabbed about that. They had done it on more than one occasion and the last time had been nearly twenty years ago. Up until about two minutes ago the only four people in this room had known about their past were herself, Mark, Derek and Amelia. Now her mother knew as well.

"Wait, you cheated on me? After everything we've gone through, you cheated on me?" Lexie demanded. She was livid. She wanted to scratch Nancy Shepherd's eyes out so badly.

"No Lexie. I slept with her a long time ago. About twenty years ago I'd say." Mark told her.

"Oh." Lexie whispered. Now she was embarrassed. She shouldn't have freaked out like that. She should have waited to hear what Mark had to say before she got upset with him.

"Okay can we get on with it." Arizona called, doing her best not to wake the still sleeping baby. Arizona was surprised at how much the baby could sleep through. As much as liked babies this whole naming party was just going on too long.

Amelia seemed to snap out of it and she got back to the business of handing out scraps of paper and pens to the remaining guests for them to vote on a name. The only one left out of this was Mark. He had narrowed the list down to names he really liked and now it was up to the others to vote on which one he could use.

Once everyone was done voting, Amelia passed the stack of scrap paper to Callie so Callie could tally up the votes. Lexie was anxious. Her name was in there and so was Addison's. She prayed that enough people had voted for her name. She knew it would be close because Addison had a lot of friends still. Callie and Amelia kept looking at each other, each of them thinking the same thing. They too were hoping that Lexie's name was the most voted on. They both knew that if Addison beat out Lexie in this vote, that Lexie would demand a re-vote.

Finally Callie had finished tallying up the votes. She swallowed hard and wrote the final tally up. She wasn't sure whether to be disappointed or relieved. She held up the list with the final tally under it.

**Final Tally**

Liam- 5 votes

Asher- 3 votes

Ethan- 2 votes

Lexie breathed a big sigh of relief. Her name was at the top. Liam was the name that half of the voters had voted on. A minute later, she realized that his middle name would be Asher and she wanted to throw up. Addison had infringed on her life with Mark again. Dammit, she hated that woman. Except she couldn't. It was hard to hate someone who saved babies.

Mark was relieved that the baby finally had a name. He looked around for his grandson before remembering that Miranda and Ben had him. He got up off the couch and went over to Miranda and Ben.

"Can I have the baby back." Mark asked.

"No, I'm not done with him." Miranda told him. Ben chuckled. He knew that Miranda wanted more kids and he just wished Miranda would admit that to him.

"Miranda, give the man back his grandson." Ben told her, still chuckling slightly.

"Fine." Miranda grumbled. She put the baby back in Mark's arms and then she turned back to Ben.

"You know you could just admit that you want one of those with me." Ben pointed out.

"Ben we've talked about it and I'm not ready yet." Miranda reminded him.

"Oh so that's why if Mark weren't here you probably would have stolen his grandson." Ben teased lightly.

"Ben!" Miranda objected. She knew he was right and she really hated it when he was right. Falling in love with Ben was not something she had planned on. Planning a future with Ben was an even scarier prospect.

Meanwhile Meredith had seen the look of relief cross Lexie's face when they had seen the final tally of votes for the baby's name. She had gone over to Lexie almost immediately. She didn't know why Lexie had looked so relieved.

"Lexie, you okay?" Meredith asked.

"I am now." Lexie assured her. Yes the idea of Addison having a hand in naming the baby made her sick, but at least Lexie had gotten the first name.

"What was all that about?" Meredith asked. She knew something about voting on the last few names had thrown Lexie into anxiety, but she didn't know why.

"My name and Addison's name were two of the final three names."Lexie whispered. Meredith was surprised. She had no idea how Lexie knew which one was Addison's name. They had kept all of it secret.

"How did you know that?" Meredith whispered curiously.

"When they were going through the big list and Mark said he wanted to keep Asher on the short list, I saw the look that Callie and Amelia shared and I knew." Lexie replied.

"So that means Liam was yours?" Meredith guessed. Mutely Lexie nodded. She was relieved that this was over and the baby finally had a name. Maybe now she could get some time alone with Mark.

"And that means that Ethan was Nancy's?" Meredith added questioningly. She guessed so. It made sense with Amelia's comment and the fact that Nancy hadn't spoken much during this gathering.

"Yeah I guess so." Lexie said quietly.

Just then, Mark's voice spoke for the first time in awhile. He still had no idea who had suggested the final three names and as soon as he made the baby name announcement he would find out.

"I'd like all of you to meet Liam Asher Sloan."

If the baby had been calm and peacefully sleeping before, he wasn't now. He erupted into color changing cries. Without waiting, Carolyn swooped in and took the baby from Mark and headed into the bedroom with him. She would change him and feed him if necessary. She missed having babies around. Her grandkids were all preschool and older. So she figured she'd get her baby fix with her surrogate son's grandson.

"Now you have to guess who picked the names." Callie reminded him impatiently. She knew that he'd be happy when he realized he had picked Lexie's name for the baby's first name. She wasn't sure how he would feel knowing that Asher was Addison's name suggestion. She had already sent Addison a quick text letting her know that Asher was the baby's middle name.

Mark was getting bored of this guessing game. He wanted everyone to leave and for him to get some time in with Lexie. He knew that she had been feeling totally left out today and he didn't like knowing or seeing that.

"Well there's only three people I haven't heard from today. Nancy, Lexie and Addison. So these three names have to match up somehow." Mark was talking mostly to himself now. He saw the smile on Lexie's face and right then he knew. He knew that Liam was Lexie's name suggestion.

"Lexie put in Liam." Mark commented with a smile in Lexie's direction.

"Yeah I did." Lexie confirmed, smiling right back at him. She no longer felt the need to be angry with him.

"Asher…Well truthfully it sounds like something Addison would suggest." Mark commented. He looked to both Amelia and Callie for a confirmation or denial.

"You got it." Callie told him. She couldn't read his expression. She didn't know how he felt about using the name suggested to him by an ex-girlfriend as the middle name for the baby.

"Then Ethan is Nancy's." Mark finished as he looked at Nancy. He couldn't believe that the final three names had all been suggested to him by women who he shared some sort of history with. The irony was clearly obvious. Nancy nodded in his direction, confirming his guess. Mark looked at Lexie and motioned for her to sit with him. Smiling Lexie joined him on the couch just as Carolyn emerged with the infant in her arms.

"Carolyn let me take him now." Mark told her as he held out his arms for baby Liam. Reluctantly, Carolyn passed Liam to Mark. She had enjoyed having a baby to look after while she was here in Seattle. She knew that she'd have to leave soon but she also knew that Mark had to learn to do this whole parenting thing. She was greatful that Lexie was back in his life and apparently planned on staying around for good this time.

"Okay, party's over. Let's leave Mark and Lexie and Liam alone for a little while." Callie announced. She could tell that Mark was anxious to have some time alone with Lexie and Liam and after this afternoon and evening, he deserved it. Thankfully no one argued with Callie.

"Let's go get a drink to celebrate!" Amelia suggested. Derek shot her a look of disapproval. He knew about Amelia's past and he'd be damned if he watched her go down that path again.

"Calm down Derek. I'll have a club soda." Amelia told him quickly. She knew that Derek did his best to protect her but she was an adult and perfectly capable of making her own choices.

"I think I'll just go back to the hotel." Carolyn told Amelia. Carolyn had been staying in a hotel with her daughters for the past few days just to give Mark a taste of what being a parent to a newborn would be like once she and her daughters went back to their lives.

"I'll come with you Mom." Nancy told her. She was worried about her baby sister, but she knew that Derek wouldn't let Amelia do anything stupid. Plus she wanted to call her kids who were spending the week with their dad.

Amelia could tell that they would be the only ones not coming. Callie, Arizona, Meredith, Miranda, Ben and Derek all seemed to be ready to finish off their night with a few drinks at the bar that was not far from the apartment. They all left the apartment and Carolyn and Nancy followed right behind them. In a matter of minutes the apartment had gone from crowded to almost totally empty.

Mark was relieved when they were gone. Finally he would be able to enjoy time with Liam and Lexie. This was something he had been looking forward to all day.

"You don't care that Liam's middle name is Asher do you?" Mark asked as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. He was worried that Lexie would mind Addison having a hand in naming the baby. He hadn't known Asher was Addison's pick until the end. He liked the name so he knew that even if he had known that Asher was Addison's pick ahead of time, he wouldn't have taken that name out of the running.

"No. Well at first I did, but I'm okay with it now." Lexie told him honestly. The name didn't matter to her. What mattered was that she was back in Mark's arms looking at the beautiful baby that Mark was cradling in his other arm. Of course not knowing what her title would be made her a little nervous. She wasn't sure if she would be Grandma or Mama. It all depended on how Mark was going to raise the baby. Was her going to be Grandpa or Daddy. Lexie just wasn't sure yet.

"Good. I'm glad I picked your name." Mark told her with a smile. He was relieved that the votes had favored Liam. He really liked the final three names, but Liam had been his personal pick.

"I'm glad you picked it too." Lexie murmured as she leaned in for a kiss. Kissing Mark was as natural as breathing for her. Technically the votes had gone in favor of Liam. Mark had just liked it enough to put it on the short list. When Lexie pulled away from his lips, she rested her head on Mark's shoulder.

"I am going to need to fill out the adoption papers soon. I'd like to put you on them as well." Mark told her. He knew that he wouldn't be able to raise Liam without Lexie. He hoped that she wasn't totally freaked out about the idea.

"Okay. How do we plan on raising him?" Lexie asked. She needed to ask this question. Either way she would need just a little more time to process being jumped into a mom role or a grandmother role. Mark loved hearing the "we" come out of Lexie's mouth. It was something that he had never thought he would get with her. Hearing her question made him realize that they really needed to figure that out.

"As if we are his parents." Mark told her. He knew that was the scenario that she would feel most comfortable with and he was more than willing to do this for her. They would always know that they were not his real parents and he too would know that when he got older. Lexie was relieved to hear that. She wouldn't need as much time processing that idea as she would need processing the idea of being a grandmother.

"Okay, I can do that. I can be Liam's Mom." Lexie murmured as she looked at the content baby in Mark's arms.

"Let me go put him back in his crib." Mark told her as he started to get up.

"No, I'll do it."Lexie told him. She took the baby from his arms and carried him back to Mark's bedroom. She didn't have a lot of experience with infants. She didn't get to see her niece Laura that much and she didn't remember much from when her younger sister Molly was a baby. Mark could tell that she was a natural mother and he loved watching her with Liam. Liam would need a lot of mothering as he grew up and realized that he was adopted. Liam resembled his biological mother a lot. He resembled Mark too but not quite enough to say that he was biologically Mark and Lexie's baby.

Lexie came back holding one of the baby monitors. It wasn't like the apartment was big and they wouldn't be able to hear him, but Mark figured he probably shouldn't point that out.

"Don't look at me like that Mark. I'm not sleeping with you tonight." Lexie warned him. Mark had that look in his eyes. That look that clearly said that he wanted her. That look that in the past would have caused Lexie to simply melt at his feet.

"How long exactly do you plan on holding out on me?" Mark asked. He missed being with Lexie in that way. He knew why Lexie was so desperate for them to take things slowly but Mark was losing his mind here.

"As long as I want to." Lexie told him. She was about to say no, but Mark's lips covered hers before she could say another word. Lexie had been kissing him since they had reconciled but she always forgot how hot his kisses left her. They left her wanting more. They made her momentarily forget that celibacy vow that she had made for herself. She pulled away just seconds before her hands could rip off his black t-shirt that he was wearing.

"Lex, I love you." Mark murmured.

"I love you too Mark but I'm not ready." Lexie insisted. Mark would never force a woman to have sex with him against their will. He knew that once he and Lexie finally reconnected at that intimate level, it would be worth waiting for.

"Okay." Mark said. Lexie loved the fact that Mark respected her decision. She knew that he wanted her but she also knew that he was willing to wait for her.

"Let's watch a movie."Lexie suggested. She picked up the TV remote and turned on the TV. She adjusted the volume so it would be low and not wake Liam up. Mark didn't argue with her. Instead he pulled her closer to him so he could wrap both of his arms around her.

About a half an hour into the movie, Mark looked down at Lexie and she was sound asleep, her left hand holding his hand in her sleep. Mark hadn't known that she was so wiped out. With his other hand, he grabbed a blanket from the top of the couch and wrapped both Lexie and himself in that blanket. It seemed like they would be sleeping together in front of the TV tonight. He kissed her forehead and he watched a little more of the movie before he too fell asleep in front of the TV. This was the perfect end to a crazy day and neither of them could have been any happier.


End file.
